WILD ANIMAL BLAMED FOR POWER FAILURE

THE HARTFORD COURANT

Northeast Utilities is blaming a wild animal -- possibly a squirrel -- for causing a power outage in much of the town's northwest corner Wednesday.

About 2,200 customers lost electricity at 4:22 p.m. The lights went back on about an hour later. The outage affected an area bordered by Albany Avenue from Mohegan Drive to North Main Street and Fern Street from Trout Brook Drive to North Main Street.

The power failure brought havoc to the afternoon commute, shutting down traffic signals and creating chaos at major intersections, said West Hartford police Capt. William Erickson.

"It was every man for himself out there," Erickson said.

Police stationed officers along busy routes, such as the intersection of Albany Avenue and North Main Street. But there were still several minor accidents.

Susan G. Millerick, spokeswoman for NU, said the power failure was sparked when a squirrel or another small animal came into contact with a switching mechanism on King Philip Drive. That, in turn, caused a power surge at a substation.

"Squirrels are a leading cause of our outages," Millerick said. "They're right up there with tree limbs."